Sites and Bites

Sites and Bites

We’re having our first guest blogger for Sites and Bites today! Her name is Cat and she’s got a brand new blog I love called Couscous Tangerine. Plus, she’s a super hip San Franciscan so I asked her to share one of her favorite sites and bites today in our fair city.

San Franciscans might pound their fist on the table and shout “sacrilege!” when they read this, but I’d like to introduce a Burmese alternative to Burma Superstar. It’s called Yamo, a little hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop Burmese home cooking joint in the Mission. It’s a drastically different experience from the decidedly clean-cut vibe of Burma Super Star. With only bar seating and an exposed kitchen behind the bar, expect to rub elbows with other customers while you’re eating and be prepared to come out smelling a little smoky. My favorite part of the Yamo experience is being in the midst of all the action, hearing the ladies of Yamo chatter in Cantonese while they chop, dice, stir-fry and deep-fry your food in front of you.

These are the three essentials that I recommend ordering at Yamo: the tea salad ($4.25), the samusas ($6.00), and the house noodles with beef ($6.95). You’ll come out with your belly heavier and your wallet barely lighter!

A crunchy delight! A hint of tea leaf here, a little pop of roasted peanuts there, and bursts of fried garlic will make you want to do a little happy dance right there on your bar stool!

I’m assuming these Burmese samusas are a distant cousin to Indian samosas. These are deep-fried wraps filled with spices and potatoes served fresh and mouth-burning hot.

The house noodles with beef is a Burmese take on garlic noodles that falls under the comfort food category. It’s not spectacular, but it reminds me of good ole Asian home cooking. A few squirts of Sriracha adds a fun little spicy kick to the palette.

Keep reading for more tips on Yamo and an incredible bike shop in the neighborhood…

Some tips for Yamo:

1. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting smoky and be prepared to take a shower afterwards if you’re meeting up with friends later. I don’t know about you, but my hair just loves absorbing the smells around me!

2. Lines can be long on week nights, especially since seating is limited. I found that the lines for lunch during the weekends to be much shorter and tolerable.

3. Skip the curry, it’s not as flavorful as the other dishes here.

While San Franciscans might be disapproving of my lukewarm reception of Burma Superstar, they’ll be nodding their heads enthusiastically about Public Bikes, a hipster store with the cutest array of pastel-colored and cheerful lookin’ bikes. I can just picture myself with a large floppy hat, heart-shaped sunglasses, and a long flowing skirt pedaling along Ocean Beach on one of these adorable bikes.

Yamo has amazing pad thai….I lived around the corner from there for YEARS. It’s a little too squishy inside for my taste (it’s REALLY small) so we always did take out….but the food is def outstanding! Fun to read about about Yamo here. (And I love this series Liz…)

I can’t wait to try it! My usual Burmese default is Mandalay which is as delish (if not better) than Burma Superstar but much easier to get into. I’m looking forward to switching it up and giving Yamo a try!